Born Of The Gods: The House of Hades
by jacejosujura
Summary: All of them were forged in power and sin. Grecian gods, demigods, power, sex, betrayal. Prophecies that were never supposed to be made lay upon the shoulders of a Jace Beleren, who bears a begrudging mark of his mother, and Liliana Vess, who is marred with the darkness of her father stumble upon each other. Lies, betrayal, fear. But it isn't who you're born. It's who you become.
1. Prologue: He Bore Her Mark

_Hey! It's J3 here. This will be my NaNoWriMo project- which I am aware doesn't start until November. However, I work retail and November is busy, plus I am literally my managers go-to bitch for extra hours and extra tasks. I will still write (or at least try) to hit 50k in November, but I wanted to get it started. ASP has been written and scrapped three times. I am trying, the block is real. Office Hours will happen soon too. I haven't forgotten about Hallelujah or SDS, either. I need time and sleep and not to have to have multiple surgeries. Anyways, enjoy my Greek inspired fic: Born of the Gods: The House of Hades!_

* * *

Hades felt it. He felt every single fiber of his realm shake. His throne tremored beneath him. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt. The entirety of the underworld moved with the fervor of one of his wretched brother's earthquakes, but he knew it had to be more than that. The shake was felt all the way into Elysium, even into the Isles of the Blest, where those who had achieved moral greatness in their mortal, human lives, got to live out the rest of eternity. The humans now equated it with "heaven," but Hades knew his realm was much more complicated than that.

The fields of Asphodel rocked with the jolt as well. Those humans of mediocrity and neutral evil didn't look surprised; nothing much surprised them anymore. Every bit of fight had been drawn out of them because of the eons they had spent paying for living their lives in the most lukewarm way possible. They had not the blessings of those in Elysium, or the torture that those in the fields of punishment endured. They were solidly in the middle, something that disgusted Hades more so than true evil or true good.

But what was even more disturbing was the fact that this force had shook all the way down to the deepest, darkest belly of the pit: Tartarus, where Hades had damned various forms of humans and monsters alike to live out the rest of their days in personal forms of endless torment. Any sort of pip or even a movement from the pit was not one to be taken lightly, any sort of jolt made him, Hades, the oldest and truest god of the dead, deeply uneasy. He tried to shake the feeling, but he couldn't, it wasn't possible. He also knew that he would be blamed for this. It was always his fault. When something went wrong on Olympus or in the mortal world, Zeus always found a way to blame him. He took a deep breath; clutching at the glass in his hand, a mixture of blood and wine in his cold hands. As he took another sip from the goblet, just as the drink was on his lips, so were three names. _Sorin. Josu. Liliana._

* * *

Poseidon felt the shake, just like his elder brother, though he didn't know that Hades had felt it as well. He was sure that the whole of his underground sea was going to be a sunken, hollow hole. He knew his brothers, both Zeus and Hades and possibly their children were the most apt to blame him for the quake, though that wasn't truthfully what it was. He was the father of earthquakes of course, but this was more, far more. They would be fools not to have not to felt or noticed the power behind it, almost like a supernova imploding upon itself. His realm, his waters, were used to the shakes and tremors of the earth and the motion of the ocean. But the God of the sea, the master of the depths and of the waves knew that something had gone horribly awry, something bigger than himself or either of his brothers, or any of them together, even. Poseidon didn't know what his brothers had felt, or if they even truly did, but he knew that the winter solstice was far too far away. This meeting would have to happen in the here and the now.

He also knew that, like always, he would serve as the mediator, the one true neutral in the situations between Hades and Zeus. There were situations that were eons upon eons old and would never end, and then there were events of the recent past that had left Zeus seething. The tensions between the gods of the earth, the sun and the underworld and death was at an all time high. Poseidon had no demigod children, only one daughter, a merfolk named Kiora, whom he had made the guardian of the new seas when the polar ice caps started to melt. The climate of the mortal world was changing, regardless of how much Poseidon tried to stop it, it kept going. He knew that didn't matter to Zeus, tough. If his realm encroached upon Zeus' in any way, there would be an all out war that the world, neither mortal nor eternal could survive

* * *

Zeus felt it, and with it he felt the white hot, burning anger as pure as the taste of his master bolt burning through him, coursing through every vein in his body. He knew that this was just another stunt of his brother's, another ploy for power on Hades' part, it had to be, just as he had stolen Nahiri to be some pagan concubine for his vampiric, disgusting son.

Zeus also knew that there were few upon the council of the twelve, the council of the Pantheon and the hearth that he could depend on, and only one that he trusted implicitly, if only for her intellect and wisdom. She'd yet to steer him wrong in millenia. He needed her wisdom and would be seeking her counsel, because the sheer power of the cracked, shaken earth wasn't something that Poseidon was behind, nor was it something that he could contain. Without any doubts in his mind, he knew that Poseidon would try to mediate , but the situation was out of the meddlesome sea god's hands. His champion, his uncorrupted, pure champion would be his ears and eyes into the mortal world for as long as he needed her to be. And so would Athena's son. He bore her mark. Just as he owned Elspeth, as he had given her his true blessing, Jace was Athena's. He had no choice, a fact he mulled over in his head many a time, turning his master bolt over in his hands, just as at the same time, Hades was clutching a glass, Poseidon a trident. But still, one fact remained.

 _He had no choice._

 _He bore her mark._


	2. Sanguine Bond

Jace's teeth clenched so they wouldn't chatter against the sheer power coursing through him, but for the first time, Jace wasn't sure that that the power belonged to him. He was honestly questioning what on earth he was doing, what his mother had tasked him with. He usually tried to avoid other demigods, other than his brother, Tezzeret. Though he'd rather avoid him, too.

The Mark of Athena was not something Jace had asked for. Tezzeret said that their mother had gifted him with it, often through clenched teeth and in bitter tones. Jace didn't think that—in fact, he thought the exact opposite. He didn't want to be anyone's chosen. He wanted a library and to teach school. He wanted to know things, not people. Yet here he was, being thrown into a situation with not even a person, but another demigod, another two _gods_ , two that could possibly see his mark. The twins were the secret and the bane of Olympus: Liliana and Josu. He only knew of their parentage because his mother had been the one to banish them from Olympus, even on the solstice. They weren't even demigods like they and everyone tried to say. Not only were they children of the pantheon, they were children of one, and arguably the most powerful of the big three and one of the Pantheon: the goddess of love herself.

* * *

 _He had been in a bookstore, just perusing the mortal world, Kaalia lost somewhere in the lull of the pages of a book in the back part of a coffee shop. She had come to him in a wave of flowers and beauty. He thought it was Persephone, at first. But he was wrong. It wasn't his wife. It was the goddess of love herself, masked in perfume and a headdress._

" _Aphrodite," Hades said. "What are you doing here?"_

" _I need your help," she said. He could feel her love magic seeping its way into the ground. He fought against it. He didn't want to crack the ground in a mortal bookstore, but she was leaving him with little choice._

" _I can offer you nothing Zeus cannot give you tenfold," Hades said, not a hint of emotion in his voice._

" _Yes, you can… I need your help. H-he, he sired a champion, Hades. Two. Twin girls. They will offset the balance of the universe if left unchecked. And Athena's boys, they will overtake the entire Pantheon if she has her way."_

" _I fail to see how this is my problem," Hades said. Though he hated Athena and Zeus and their unwavering alliance. Aphrodite couldn't be trusted. She was little more than a wanton girl vying for power._

 _He had Sorin, a boy that was conceived in the heat of a bad decision with Marie Laveau herself. He wasn't interested in more children that he had to be aloof from._

" _Delphi, the oracle. She says that the Japanese gods and those of Egypt will need a champion because of Zeus- I'm asking for your help because you are powerful. Hephaestus can't, Ares can't…"_

" _You're asking for a child, Aphrodite? With me? What can be born of this?"_

" _True beauty, Hades, true power. A force that cannot be stopped," Aphrodite said, the love goddess' voice singsong and melodic. And with that, she laid her small hand on Hades' chest, where his heart rested. It was a mistake, because her smell overtook him like a wave from Poseidon's oceans, and he was unable to say no._

 _He wrapped them both in the Helm of Darkness, not thinking that his actions would forever warp the shape of the universe. No one could see him and he crashed into her, taking her fiercely, unable to fathom anything but what it would be like to be inside her. The goddess of love infused herself with him, and it couldn't be undone. Because in that moment, they were born, Zeus' master bolt crashing down as both Hades and Aphrodite were struck with the weight of what they had done. In that moment, Hades was stronger than Zeus had a prayer of being. The mother and father of the two children that would be known as the desolation twins carried Aphrodite's blessing. But as they were born, Zeus struck them, seeking to kill them, but unknowingly fusing them with light, their existence forever a dance between light and dark. Hades struck away the master bolt with his Helm of Darkness, diffusing it. Josu meant salvation; and maybe that's what he was, but Liliana was beauty._

 _And he'd never regretted them._

* * *

This bar wasn't in a bad part of town but the only vibrations of power that Jace was getting were those of death, decay, undeath, things his mother had told him to avoid. Until yesterday, of course. As much as he trusted his mother's judgment, he couldn't help but think he was being sent into a den of wolves covered in blood. Demigods? He hated the lot of them. Children of Hades? Vampires, witches, sanguimancers? She surely knew someone better cut out for this job. Because Jace didn't make friends, and that's what he needed him to do. Or maybe it was that everyone else could defy Athena's wishes we he had not the choice. Jace heaved a sigh, his heart heavy in his chest. _Some are born shitty, some achieve shit, some have shit thrust upon them,_ Jace thought. He realized that whatever was shaking the fabric of the universe was important, but couldn't Zeus just solve shit himself instead of using him as a pawn? But that wasn't what gods did. They were their entertainment, and if Jace wanted to live, he better be damn good at it. He broached the door of the bar, trying to look at it as an undesirable homework assignment, but what he was greeted with nearly floored him.

 _Liliana was beauty._

* * *

Nahiri was always unsure of what to do, she never imagined that her life would end up like this, she always thought she'd live out her days on mortal earth, traipsing back and forth to Olympus sometime. She assumed she'd always have her father's favor. She'd never dreamt that she'd be someone's second choice, that she'd be forced upon a man who didn't want her. She'd never thought that her wedding night would end in Sorin screaming she'd never be his angel. Her breath was catching in her chest just thinking about it. She sat in their flat apartment, it was a beautiful place, Sorin had let her decorate it as she wished. Hades gave them all the resources they needed—that never was an issue.

They both had been keeping watch on Liliana and Josu on opposite ends of town, Hades wasn't stupid, he knew they were all in danger, and that they'd never, no matter how much they loved each other, would stay in a central place for safety's sake. Hades' words were absolute law to the four of them: Sorin, Nahiri, Liliana, Josu, all of them. She heard him come in as she sat something on the table for them, the door to their home shutting. He grunted his thanks for the meal, but Sorin's eyes were dark with bloodlust and the thirst that plagued him since the day that his mother had allowed his grandfather, Edgar, to change him. He tore into the meat, which she had mercifully left almost raw. She wasn't stupid.

She was beautiful, Sorin had come appreciate that. She was light-skinned and curvy, light-eyed, and absolutely everything Sorin would have asked for, Hades knew that and he saw his opportunity when Nahiri had come to him.

She pushed her plate aside as she walked behind her husband, seeing the darkness in his eyes.

"I could help you, you know." Nahiri said, her voice a whisper, barely there, but there was need there too, need Sorin couldn't place.

The more Nahiri watched him, the more she desired him. He made her laugh even when he didn't want to, when she knew he was miserable. When Hades had come to him saying that they were in all grave danger, he had placed his hand on her wrist in a circle of protection. _Was she that desperate for his attention?_

"No, you can't." Sorin inhaled, a basic mistake he'd been avoiding at all costs. Her scent caught him off guard. It was floral and fruity; he'd never bothered before. In that second, he saw a girl, a woman, that was giving him everything. He at least owed her a chance, if nothing else.

Sorin couldn't help it. He flashed back to his irrational, bad behavior of their wedding night, and for the first time, in that second, he regretted his harsh words to his wife.

* * *

" _This isn't what I wanted_ — _" he spat at her, that night in the underworld where he had spent his childhood and now was expected to consummate a marriage to a woman he didn't love. "Your father killed my angel, in cold blood."_

" _It doesn't perturb you that your father created Avacyn?" Nahiri said, her voice strong, even though she didn't feel it._

" _NO!" Sorin screamed. "It never did. And you'll never be her and I'll never want you," he heaved. "Quite literally, welcome to hell," Sorin snarled._

 _Nahiri blanched, even though her skin was already pale. Liliana hadn't bothered knocking, she knew she was interrupting nothing. If she couldn't find Josu, Josu would be with Sorin. Liliana breathed in, a heavy sigh._

" _Come with me, sister." Liliana escorted her out of the room and into her stepmother's garden._

" _Don't taste anything," Liliana said. "The rule applies to all of us, especially you."_

" _I'll never taste her," Sorin had thought bitterly._

* * *

Here Sorin Markov sat, his wife pressing kisses to the top of his head.

"Sorin, please, let me help you…"

"Do you want me to change you? Because this is not a life you desire," he said, bitterly.

"No, but let me help your thirst, let me give you what you need… If it's nothing else, it's a start, Sorin."

Sorin studied her, his breath heaving in his chest. Bloodlust and want coursed through him like the blood flowing through her veins. For the first time in their three-month marriage, he desired her, he saw her, he wanted her. He walked them into their room, the place that was meant to be their marriage bed was untouched, neither of them slept there, they never had.

Sorin crushed his lips to hers, not softly but not roughly either and she pushed her pelvis into his as she braided her fingers into his long, white-blonde locks a soft, subtle moan on her lips.

"T-this isn't what I meant," Nahiri said into Sorin's mouth, breathless. "I meant that you could- that I wanted-" She stumbled.

"I know.. but I want to give this a chance, give us a chance if nothing else- my behavior.." Sorin said.

Nahiri pushed her mouth to his in a way that silenced the words but also his mind.

"I know- I know you miss her and that I won't be her, and I don't want to be. I want to be me with you." She moved her lips to his neck, something that Sorin hadn't felt before. He and Avacyn, they kissed but they didn't move farther than that- she was too pure, they were unmarried.

He let out a throaty growl, louder than he had in a long time. Nahiri, for the first time, let herself enjoy Sorin's noises. She pinked the skin below his collarbones slightly, they showed up easily on his pale skin.

Sorin touched her neck, feeling her pulse, her warmth, smelling her scent that he suddenly couldn't get enough of. Her breath caught in her chest as she did so, the wetness from her center now soaking her thighs, just from a few simple words, a few simple touches. Sorin felt the soft material of the skirt she wore under his hands, unsure of what to do.

"Please," she said. "Let me be yours. Let us try to be us instead of them."

"I want you," he grumbled, slowly.

"Then take me," she said. "And not just in the way you're going to. In the way that you're fighting," Nahiri said, right against his ear.

"Spread for me," Sorin cupped the side of her face. She did, anticipation curling like fire in her belly. She knew that she wasn't supposed to want this, not from him, not from a son of Hades, she wasn't supposed to want a vampire to drink the blood that ran through her, but the sanguine bond that they would share would be something, even though she didn't know, that Sorin had never done before. He'd never fed from a woman. He picked people that were on his father's hit list and drained them, he wasn't interested in creating more vampires. He was interested in his father's orders and not being thirsty more than he was the taste of the blood that passed through his lips.

Sorin's fingers slid into her, she was more than ready for him and she whimpered into him, he felt her nails dig into his shoulders, her breathing become more than labored as he moved inside her. He knew that if he moved his lips from hers that he wouldn't be able to stop himself and that was exactly what Nahiri wanted. She pushed her neck toward his lips, making herself clear, Sorin knew. But could he deny himself. He picked her up and her legs found their way around his waist, their lips battling fiercely as the back of her head hit the pillows. Sorin pulled the shirt off and his belt came loose from his jeans leaving them in a heap below their bed. He tore the skirt without much thought, his fingers finding her again. She was frustrated, she balled the sheets against her hands. She didn't want his fingers and he knew it. The ache below Sorin's waist and the dry, achyness of his throat was beyond his control. He parted Nahiri's legs with his knees, unsure still of what he was doing. Usually, with women, he didn't care too much for their pleasure. But he didn't want to hurt her.

" _Please, Sorin, please!"_ Nahiri's voice had eclipsed need. He grabbed her hips to meet his and he felt every inch of her surround him in a second, he thrusted more of himself into her, still scared of causing her pain.

"Harder," she said without a second thought, so Sorin pushed himself further inside her, a grunt on his lips. She pushed her hips to meet his again and he flipped them. She was on her stomach, he had a perfect view of the neck he wanted to ravish and he gripped her hips, losing himself in her, feeling her stretch for him. He thrusted into her harder, unrelenting, pushing her body closer to orgasm, his tearing at him as well.

"Sorin!" His name was all she could muster as he tipped her head up to see their reflections in the mirrored headboard. The smell of sex overwhelmed him; he couldn't stop. He tipped her head up and tasted her wholly, the warmth of her blood flowing from her into him. She felt her body let go of everything: her soaking him, his seed pouring into her, but he wasn't stopping. Her blood was the most beautiful thing he'd ever tasted in his life. He was addicted to her in that moment.

"SORIN! Don't stop," Nahiri begged him.

Sorin drank deeply from her, sating himself slowly, feeling her orgasm around him from the blood leaving her body, along with Sorin's manhood still filling her. He kissed the mark and pressed a handkerchief to it.

She curled to his chest and then, for the first time in many years, Nahiri Ti... no, Markov, felt whole. Sorin grasped her close, feeling sated but also guilty. In every way, she belonged to him, and that grasped at his heart strings in a way that no one—not even Avacyn—had ever.

* * *

Liliana's body moved with grace, her curves swaying to the beat of the music. She wasn't dancing with anyone in particular, just to the beat of the rhythm in the place. In that moment, Jace Beleren was floored. A wave of connection that had nothing to do with his telepathy or her dark power flowed between them as soon as their eyes met.

She beckoned for him.

He went.


	3. Answer The Call

_Well, I'm not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you..._

* * *

The music was loud but Liliana liked it that way. She was used to attracting the glances and often stares of unwelcome men, catcalling, and many other unsavory things. She was the daughter of beauty and power. She knew who she was, she knew her worth. The only people she had were Silver and Karen, and her siblings, Sorin and Josu, and the former were usually distant, they had affairs of their own, one's Liliana would do well not to meddle in. Silver was here tonight, keeping watch over the bar, keeping watch over her, waiting for Josu, just sitting.

 _Really, Mom,_ Jace thought to himself. _This is the girl that I'm supposed to seduce, I'm sure she loves computer nerds. Let me teach her how to code! My sarcasm and self deprecating humor will get right to her heart! That'll get us off on the right foot,_ Jace thought sarcastically. But he didn't stop walking over there, it was like he couldn't. He couldn't help but feel like he was getting strung into the web of black widow, but he couldn't stop. She'd yet to make more than a glance, but the way that her body undulated in the darkness of a bar that had been called _The Supernova,_ which Jace thought was ironic in and of itself, because they were bright, or at least flashed bright into the dark.

The closer he got, the tighter his stomach got. It felt like something was gripping at him, but it was something that wasn't fear, it was something that he hadn't felt before, and he couldn't place it.

Suddenly, with the swiftness of a shadow, Jace heard a voice that was as smooth as silk in his ear and felt a tiny, cold hand on the back of his neck.

"Hello," Liliana crooned in his ear. "Would you like to dance?"

Liliana brushed a mop of shaggy black hair out of his eyes as she spun him around in the darkness, as he was about the see why the place was called the _Supernova._ Bright lights of pink, blue, and purple flashed around them, giving her more than just a dingy picture of his face. He was smiling, but it wasn't sweet, he was scared. Liliana used her powers to change the song to something a bit slower, she wanted to feel him close, to see what color his aura was, to see if she could feel or hear his heart.

 _She's going to be able to see right through me,_ Jace thought. _She's a child of the Pantheon and the big three, how can she not?_ His hands started to shake against the side of Liliana's face, where she had placed them, but Jace heard his mother's voice in his head.

" _The mark that you think seals your fate protects your identity, my child. She can feel your heart but nothing more,"_ an eons old voice said in his mind, and Jace let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

Liliana felt his heart beat faster in his chest, so she put her hand on the small of his back, he couldn't help but grip her closer; her mind was a implicit maze, and Jace wanted to delve in… but he couldn't, well, he wouldn't. He stopped. He held her closer, feeling her breath touch his neck, the scent of wildflowers overpowering him, this wasn't something he could or wanted to rush, so he held her tighter, letting her feel him pull her in.

"You don't come here very often," she breathed in his ear.

"Do you?" he said back, slightly under his breath.

Liliana felt his aura change color, from red to purple, his scent was intoxicating her just as she was him.

"Your friend keeps looking over here," Jace said.

"Silver? Ignore him, he's just like a brother to me," Liliana said, infusing the same honey into her voice.

"You're too good to be in a place like this," Jace said.

"I like to cook- my dad gave this place to me," she said, her feathers slightly ruffled. "I also like to dance," she scoffed at him.

Jace smiled- He knew that Hades was hands on with his children, even if the entire pantheon said that he wasn't.

"Why does it matter? You don't look like you'd be interested in me-"

"I am," Jace cut her off. "Ever since the first time you looked at me. It was like your eyes could see into my soul," he continued. "And I don't know if I like it." Jace said. "You feel the connection too."

That much was true. She'd locked eyes with the man with the raven hair and it was like there were no words needed. The connection was just there.

Liliana fought back a chuckle. He didn't know that she could see his aura, which was part of his soul. She could with everyone, even if his was slightly clouded, she knew from the second that she'd locked eyes with him that there was something very special about Jace Beleren- and she wanted to know what it was.

"Wanna watch the stars?" Liliana said, hyperaware of his hand on the small of her back. She didn't protest. It was almost like the feeling of his hands kept him grounded, a feeling she hadn't felt in quite a long time.

There had been men, the desperation to feel anything that wasn't the loathing that she felt when she was alone. There had been women for the sake of something different.

"Sure," he countered, beyond ready to leave the smoke and the strobe lights of the place Liliana most felt at home.

Hades didn't quite know what to do. He was aware than the pantheon thought that he was behind this great disturbance, but he planned on sending Josu on his own to find out, since Liliana would be absolutely no good if she was separated from the things that made her happy and herself- modern society. His son, Josu, was more of the old soul of his three, Sorin falling in the middle. He was aware of what had happened with his son and his wife and was going to give Sorin time to sort out his feelings and what he had done, but Josu, Josu was hiding something, and he thought he might have just the idea to find out what it was while he searched for the disturbance within the core of humanity.

"Kaalia," Hades beckoned. "Do you think that you and Josu could dig around for me? Something is happening between Ravnica and Innistrad; I think that is where the crack is beginning. You know your necessary precautions- disguise yourself. Josu can help you navigate Ravnica, regardless of how much he hates it.

Kaalia grew red. Hades didn't know that Kaalia had developed feelings for his younger son, but he wasn't paying attention to the the blush that colored her cheeks. Josu didn't know, either, for that matter, Kaalia was keeping them firmly shut, she'd never felt anything for anyone before, other than loyalty to Hades. He'd had demigod children before, but Josu stirred a monster that needed to be shut deep in Tartarus inside of Kaalia.

"Yes, my lord, of course." Kaalia said, not an ounce of tension in her voice.

"Excellent," Hades said.

"JOSU!" Hades called, and she knew that he wouldn't be able to disregard the forcefulness of his father's call to him. Kaalia worried for the younger man, he could handle himself, but this evil, this evil was large, much larger than any thing they'd ever come across before, battling worthless Egyptians or even helping Silver find his father- _Shingami,_ one of their few allies.

Wrapped in shadow, Josu Vess appeared into his father's realm, his cunning smile always there. Kaalia grew red when he looked her way, and he brushed her face.

"My lady," he smiled. Josu knew. He had to know. Her breath caught in her chest when he touched her, and any son of Hades can feel a heartbeat.

"Son," Hades said, interrupting their reverie, much to Josu's chagrin.

"Papa," he breathed evenly.

"It's time," Hades said, not stuttering, not faltering.

Josu blanched and looked over at Kaalia, for the first time, terrified.

* * *

"There's this weird connection," Jace said, all too quickly. "These vibes I get from you. They're intense." His teeth were chattering against the intense, albeit sudden cold that late October brought around the suburbs of Ravnica, and the neighboring town, Innistrad. The small town of Rix-Maadi laid on the outskirts of the bigger cities, New Prahv and Sunhome- Jace had places at each of the latter. Rix-Maadi was the place that crossed with Thraben, where Liliana's small grill and bar was located. Liliana herself lived in Nephalia, with her brothers- brother. Sorin had since moved to the town of Vizkopa to make Nahiri more comfortable and to get out of the place where he'd saw Avacyn smited with the master bolt. He had created her to be a sort of lady in waiting to Kaalia and Persephone, but she hadn't made it that far, before Sorin had become smitten with her, and later fallen for. Hades didn't have have the heart to deny him, and when Avacyn had angered Zeus by befriending Nahiri, he had killed her in cold blood, much like he tried to do with Josu and Liliana.

Sorin had broken in a way that he'd never seen, unlike the man he had raised him to be. He had ruthlessly changed women and killed men by the sword and the venom that coursed through his veins.

Liliana shook the unpleasant feeling of her brother's actions- he was still hers, and tried to focus on what was at hand, and right now, it was Jace's in hers.

"It's like I can feel your heartbeat," Liliana laughed. She could hear all heartbeats. But there was something indeed about the way that Jace Beleren's heartbeat, the way his aura sang to her in a way that she couldn't place. She knew she liked it.

"Your mind screams at me," Jace said.

"Talent of the telepath?" Liliana bit into her lip.

Jace blushed, but nothing else betrayed him. He didn't know how long he'd be able to deny himself entry to her mind. Her thoughts flowed over, uncontrollable, and he could already taste them- he knew that if he did, he'd never be sated.

 _That's Aphrodite's magic,_ he heard in his mind, but he pushed his mother's voice out of his head.

"What do you do, Jace Beleren?"

"My mother gave me something, too," he said, echoing her sentiment from earlier. "A library."

Liliana's eyes lit up at this. She knew there was only one library around here.

"It's more of an archive, isn't it?"

"It's both," Jace said. Not many people knew about it, especially the archives that Jace kept himself.

"It's over in Prahv," I've been there a few times when I was visiting Vizkopa and Duskmantle," she said.

"Duskmantle?" Jace turned up his nose. "The undercity?"

"Yes," she said, not an ounce of shame in her voice. "I have business there. Maybe I can show you one day." she breathed, leaning into his ear. Chills erupted on Jace's neck, and she was fully aware of the effect she had.

"But would you like to see my archives first?" Jace tempted her. He couldn't stop, he didn't want to.

"Are you saying that you'll show me yours if I show you mine, Jace? How very forward of you." Liliana laughed, really laughed, from her tummy. It was more than a chuckle, and Jace could feel more of her mind coming to him, the flavor unlike any other, addicting, beautiful…

 _Jace!_ He could hear Athena's voice, loud and clear.

He didn't care. He ignored it. The mark began to burn, but he rolled his neck over, clenched his fists, and pushed against it. Jace wasn't defiant, but he didn't like being treated a misbehaving child.

"No, Miss Vess, I just want to show you the stars," Jace smiled, as he opened the door to his car.

* * *

 _If your body matches what your eyes can do, you'll probably move right through me on my way to you…._


End file.
